Incoming Passenger Lists

Ancestry.co.uk have the Incoming Passenger Lists 1878-1960 available to search if you have a Premium or Worldwide subscription. I have a Premium subscription and so I have searched for my grandfather, Henry Hedges returning to the UK from Africa.

Appam of Elder Dempster & Co Ltd from Lagos to Liverpool via Teneriffe, Sekondi, Sierra Leone, Freetown, Bathurst, Accra and Plymouth arrived in Plymouth on 3rd March 1924. Source Citation: Class: BT26; Piece: 758; Item: 16. Henry Hedges, age 27 was landed at Plymouth. He boarded in Lagos, had a proposed UK address of 68 Walton St, Chelsea, London and travelled 1st class. His occupation is listed as Reader. His country of last permanent residence is listed as ‘Nigeria’. His country of intended future permanent residence is marked as ‘British Possessions’.

Adda of African Steamship Company Ltd from Lagos to Liverpool arrived in Plymouth on 22nd February 1926. H Hedges, age 29 was landed at Plymouth. He boarded in Lagos, had a proposed UK address of 68 Walton St, Chelsea, London and travelled 1st class. His occupation is listed as Reader. His country of last permanent residence is listed as ‘Nigeria’. His country of intended future permanent residence is marked as ‘British Possessions’.

Adda of African Steamship Company Ltd from Port Harcourt to Liverpool via Port Harcourt, Lagos, Accra, Takoradi, Freetown, Plymouth arrived in Plymouth on 16th December 1931. Source Citation: Class: BT26; Piece: 960; Item: 40. H Hedges, age 34 was landed at Plymouth. He boarded in Lagos, had a proposed UK address of 243 Acton Lane, Acton ?????, London and travelled 1st class. His occupation is listed as Printer. His country of last permanent residence is listed as ‘Nigeria’. His country of intended future permanent residence is marked as ‘Other parts of the British Empire’.

Appam of Elder Dempster Lines Ltd from Port Harcourt to Liverpool via Lagos, Accra, Takoradi, Freetown, Las Palmas and Plymouth arrived in Plymouth on 13th November 1933. Source Citation: Class: BT26; Piece: 1014; Item: 79. Henry Hedges, age 36, was landed at Plymouth. He boarded in Lagos, had a proposed UK address of 24 Actors lane, London W4 and travelled 1st class. His occupation is listed as Printer (G.T.)His country of last permanent residence is listed as ‘British Possession’. His country of intended future permanent residence is marked as ‘Other parts of the British Empire’.

Accra of Elder Dempster Lines Ltd from Calabar to Liverpool via Port Harcourt, Lagos, Accra, Takoradi, Monrovia, Freetown, Bathurst, Madeira, Las Palmas and Plymouth arrived in Plymouth on 2nd June 1935. Source Citation: Class: BT26; Piece: 1063; Item: 62. Mrs H Hedges, age 27 was landed at Plymouth. She boarded in Accra( i think that’s what it says), had a proposed UK address of Queen’s Head, Long Marston, Tring, Herts and travelled 1st class. She has no listed occupation. Her country of last permanent residence is listed as ‘BP’. Her country of intended future permanent residence is marked as ‘Other parts of the British Empire’.

Accra of Elder Dempster Lines Ltd from Port Harcourt to Liverpool via Port Harcourt, Lagos, Accra, Takoradi, Freetown, Madeira, Las Palmas and Plymouth arrived in Plymouth on 7th January 1936. Source Citation: Class: BT26; Piece: 1087; Item: 143. H Hedges, age 38 was landed at Plymouth. He boarded in Lagos, had a proposed UK address of Queen’s Head, Long Marston, Tring, Herts and travelled 1st class. His occupation is listed as Civil Servant. His country of last permanent residence is listed as ‘Nigeria’. His country of intended future permanent residence is marked as ‘Other parts of the British Empire’.

M.S. Adda of Elder Dempster Lines Ltd from Calabar to Liverpool via Lagos, Accra, Takoradi, Freetown, Madeira, Las Palmas and Plymouth arrived in Plymouth on 4th January 1938. Source Citation: Class: BT26; Piece: 1144; Item: 43. H Hedges, age 40 was landed at Plymouth. He boarded in Lagos, had a proposed UK address of Queens Head, Long Marston, Tring and travelled 1st class. His occupation is listed as Printer. His country of last permanent residence is listed as ‘Nigeria’. His country of intended future permanent residence is marked as ‘Other parts of the British Empire’. Also on this voyage is his wife, Lillian aged 30 and my father Peter aged 2. They both also boarded in Lagos, had a proposed UK address of Queens Head, Long Marston, Tring and travelled 1st class. Neither had an occupation listed. Their country of last permanent residence is listed as ‘England’. Their country of intended future permanent residence is marked as ‘England’.

Combining it with the outgoing trips I already had, this gives me the following trips:

Although I have some return trips missing at the moment, it looks like Henry served for about 18 months abroad and then after travelling time had about 4 months in the UK before returning to Nigeria. In April 1937, when my grandmother and my father travelled to Nigeria, they listed their country of future permanent residence as Nigeria, so it looks like they were all intending to stay. However, my father contracted malaria while there and they came back in January 1938 and listed their future residence as England.